Authors: Andy King
Baking by Hand (31 page)
THIS TECHNIQUE WORKS WITH PRETTY MUCH ANY OF THE PASTRY DOUGHS IN THIS BOOK:
Gather up the remaining dough and chill if it is too warm and is melting and making your hands sticky. After chilling, roll the dough out about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick and cut into whatever shape you want. The pieces of 3-2-1 Pie Dough and the Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry will puff up quite a bit during the baking process.
Before baking, spray with water or brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. The chocolate short dough needs no embellishment other than a cold glass of whole milk!
Bake at 400°F/200°C for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Bake the chocolate short dough at 375°F/190°C for about 15 minutes. Different doughs will bake for different times, so keep an eye on your cookies—and don’t be afraid to do a taste test to determine whether they’re done!
All five of these savory tarts use the same pastry dough for their crusts: the Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough on
here
. Some of them are set into 5-inch/12-cm flan rings, and some are simply laid flat and topped with various vegetables and cheese. All of these tarts would make a great first course or a simple dinner paired with a salad or soup. The pastry dough is a great template for both sweet and savory foods, so feel free to use the recipes as a jumping-off point for your own ingredient combinations in the future.
AND CHÈVRE TARTS
We have a real weakness for fresh goat cheese, and we’re lucky enough to be surrounded by local producers here in northern Massachusetts. Pairing it with mushrooms and thyme gives you a really traditional, tantalizing, savory treat. The oyster mushrooms add a pretty touch to the presentation, but piled shiitakes (or even raw cultivated enokis) would work just as well.
YIELD: Six 5-in/12-cm tarts
1 recipe Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough (see
here
)
1 lb/450 g oyster mushroom stems (reserve the flowery caps for garnish)
3 minced shallots
3 oz/75 g unsalted butter
Fine sea salt
3 oz/80 ml heavy cream
15 sprigs fresh thyme
Egg wash, consisting of 1 beaten egg and a splash of water
6 oz/175 g fresh chèvre, crumbled
Extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, with the baking stone in place.
For the crust, roll out the dough to about 14 inches × 27 inches/35 × 70 cm, about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick, and cut out six 7-inch/18-cm circles. Place six 5-inch/12-cm flan rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and spray with cooking spray. Place one circle on top of each ring. Lifting up around the entire perimeter of the disk, “settle” the dough into the corners of the rings. Then, working from the outside in, roll the overlapping dough until you can press the roll into the side of the flan ring, creating a thicker outer crust with a thin bottom. Chill until ready to use.
Separate the stems from the tops of the oyster mushrooms. Finely chop the stems. Mince the shallots and then sweat them in the butter over medium heat. Once the shallots are soft and translucent, add the chopped mushroom stems to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown a bit and all the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with salt. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Coarsely chop 12 sprigs of the thyme and add to the mixture. Set aside to cool.
Once the mixture is cool, assemble the tarts. Egg wash the rim of the pastry crust and put about 2 ounces/50 g of the duxelles in the bottom of the chilled pastry circles, spreading it evenly. Then add 1 ounce/30 g crumbled chèvre in the very center, leaving a ½-inch/1-cm border of the duxelles visible. Toss the tops of the oyster mushrooms lightly in olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Place these in the center of the tart on top of the goat cheese.
Bake the tarts directly on the baking stone. After about 10 minutes, the pastry dough will start to puff and may need to be pricked with the tip of a knife or a wooden skewer to release the steam. Otherwise, the tart will keep expanding and blow up; you may need to prick it a few times at various points. Rotate the pan and bake for another 10 minutes. Then, move the pan up to the middle rack and bake for another 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the mushrooms have browned and cooked down a bit. Remove from the oven and remove the rings. Strip the remaining three thyme sprigs of their leaves and sprinkle evenly over the tops of the tarts. Cool and eat warm or at room temperature.
This tart has quite a few strongly flavored components, but they have a long history of going well together. The roasted garlic is less potent than you would think, and it really adds richness to the crust. The olives add a punch of bitter, sour and salt, and the feta marries well with them. House-roasted peppers are mild and help to balance the strong flavors of the olives and cheese. Make them yourself, because the jarred ones just can’t compare.
YIELD: Six 7-in/18-cm tarts
1 recipe Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough (see
here
)
2 heads garlic Extra-virgin olive oil
3 Roasted Red Peppers (see
here
)
3 oz/75 g pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
3 oz/75 g Sicilian olives, coarsely chopped
6 oz/175 g feta cheese (goat cheese also pairs well)
Fresh basil or oregano leaves, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, with the baking stone in place.
For the crust, roll out the dough to about 14 × 27 inches/ 35 × 68 cm, about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick, and cut out six 7-inch/18-cm circles. Chill your circles of dough on a parchment-lined sheet pan for at least 30 minutes.
To roast the garlic, cut the top off each bulb and place on enough aluminum foil to wrap it up. Pour about 2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil on top of each bulb so it seeps inside the cloves and wrap the bulb up in the aluminum foil. Roast for about 30 minutes, and check to see if the cloves are soft. If not, keep cooking until the cloves are very soft. Remove from the oven and cool.
Take your chilled circles of dough from the fridge. Remove the cloves of garlic from the bulb (a good squeeze onto a plate will do it) and smear a thin, even layer onto each circle. Then put about 2.5 ounces/65 g of roasted peppers on each circle, 1 ounce/30 g of olives and 1 ounce/30 g of cheese. Spread these all out evenly.
Bake the pan of tarts directly on the baking stone for 15 minutes. Move the pan to the middle rack and bake for about another 10 minutes, until the tarts are a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool, then chop the basil or oregano leaves and sprinkle over the top of the tart. These tarts can be eaten warm or at room temperature. If you are making these ahead, do not put the herbs on until they are cool or the herbs will turn black.
These are so simple and tasty. When asparagus season rolls around in the spring, you have to give this recipe a try! Andy makes his own pancetta at home, so we always have a chunk of it ready to go. If you’re not into home curing, it is readily available at the grocery store as well.
YIELD: Six 5-in/12-cm tarts
1 recipe Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough (see
here
)
42 thin spears asparagus, trimmed of woody bottoms
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
3 oz/75 g pancetta, diced small
Egg wash, consisting of 1 beaten egg and a splash of water
Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, with the baking stone in place.
For the crust, roll out the dough to about 14 inches × 27 inches/35 × 70 cm, about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick, and cut out six 7-inch/18-cm circles. Place six 5-inch/12-cm flan rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and spray with cooking spray. Lay one circle on top of each ring. Lifting up around the entire perimeter of the disk, “settle” the dough into the corners of the rings. Then, working from the outside in, roll the overlapping dough until you can press the roll into the side of the flan ring, creating a thicker outer crust with a thin bottom. Chill until ready to use. Chop off the top 3 inches/7 cm of the asparagus. Hold them off to the side, and dice up the remainder of the spears for a total of 8 ounces/250 g. Toss the diced asparagus with a little bit of olive oil to lightly coat and sprinkle with just a little bit of salt; remember, the pancetta is salty on its own. Add the chopped pancetta to the asparagus and evenly combine it. Egg wash the rim of each crust and fill each tart with 1.5 ounces/45 g of this mixture. Next, lightly toss the asparagus tips with oil, and fan six or seven of them out on top of each of the filled tart shells.
Bake the pan of tarts directly on the baking stone. After about 10 minutes, the pastry dough will start to puff and may need to be pricked with the tip of a knife or a wooden skewer to release the steam. You may need to prick it a few times at various points. Rotate the pan and bake for another 10 minutes. Then, move the pan up to the middle rack and bake for another 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the asparagus has started to shrink slightly and take on a little bit of color. Remove from the oven and remove the rings. Cool and eat warm or at room temperature.
Jackie loves this tart because it is sweet and savory at the same time. We have a leg of prosciutto curing in the basement from when we raised pigs a while back, but we have not had a chance to try it. Putting it in these tarts will be a must when it is ready!
YIELD: Six 5-in/12-cm tarts
1 recipe Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough (see
here
)
3 medium onions, sliced ⅛-inch/3-mm thick with core intact to keep each slice together
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
Six 6” × 3”/15 × 7-cm strips of prosciutto
1 egg, beaten with a fork and a splash of water added, for egg wash
1 tbsp/15 g fresh tarragon leaves, plus more for garnish
6 tbsp/90 ml heavy cream
2 tbsp/25 g grated pecorino cheese
Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C, with the baking stone in place.
Roll out the dough to about 14 inches × 27 inches/35 × 70 cm, about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick, and cut out six 7-inch/18-cm circles. Place six 5-inch/12-cm flan rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and spray with cooking spray. Lay one circle on top of each ring. Lifting up around the entire perimeter of the disk, “settle” the dough into the corners of the rings. Then, working from the outside in, roll the overlapping dough until you can press the roll into the side of the flan ring, creating a thicker outer crust with a thin bottom. Chill until ready to use.